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A D D E E S S 

'^ BY 

HON. JxiMES GALLATIN, 

BEFORE 

THE DEMOCRATIC UNION ASSOCIATION, 

OCTOBER 1*^, 18^4. 



George B. McClellan as a Patriot, a Warrior, and a Statesman. 



COURSE OF THE ADMINISTRATION, STATE OF THE FINANCES, ETC., ETC. 



When we call to mind the character of the 
men sent to the array, the navy, and the leg- 
islatiTe and executive departments of Govern- 
ment, to co-ctperate with and support the im- 
mortal father of his country, drawing from his 
pure example, and reflecting back upon him, 
the influence of the ennobling virtues which 
distinguished the men of that age, our hearts 
bound with patriotic gratitude to the Supreme 
lluler of Nations fur bestowing such men up- 
on our country. H?, in his infinite mercy, 
has continued these gifts, of great and good 
men, at every crisis in our history. When 
this last calamity fell u|X)n us, all our distin- 
guished statesmen of the third generation — 
reckoning from the birth of the Republic — 
having been gathered to their fathers, and 
there remained among us only one of the il- 
lustrious warriors of the third generation, the 
consciousness of his faithfulness to the flag 
deprived the rebellion of half its terrors. His 
name was a tower of strength. He rallied 
around him the requisite forces to maintain ■ 
tranquillity at the capital, and to preserve the 
Government from that sanguinary usurpation 
of power with which, in their blind insanity, 
some of the insurgent leaders had intended to 
signalize the month of December, 1860. A 
grateful people continues and will ever contin- 



ue to love and respect that illustrious wai'rior. . 
The infirmities of age could not drive him 
from his post of duty, until the pi-ogress of 
the military operations against the rebels had 
brought forward a successor, whom he deemed . 
worthy of filling that post. 

GENERAL MC'CLELLAN THE SUCCESSOR OF GEN- 
ERAL SCOTT. 

To this successor of the Hero of Lnndy's 
Lane — to his character as a patriot, a states- 
man and a warrior — your kind attention is 
now invited. When yet a boy, he was ded- 
icated, with his own and his parents' con- 
sent, to his country's service. Entering that 
service, on the completion of his military ed- 
ucation at West Point, he soon found oppor- 
tunity, in the war with Mexico, to realize the 
cherished hopes of his friends, by the display 
of great skill and valor. Wherever duty 
called, he wa^ always present, faithful and 
watchful. When peace returned to bless oax 
land, he was prepared, like Cincinnatus,. to 
resume the occupations of acivihan, but ever, 
ready to serve his country in any capacity.. 
He was selected as one ©f the oJB&cers of the-- 
army to visit Europe during the Crim«a«. 
War ; and.having fulfilled that mission, depos- 
iting in the national archives a clear exposition 



2 



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of the progress of* the military art as exhibit- | 
ed in tliat war, he accepted the hiborious oc- 1 
cupation of engineer on one of the Western j 
Railroads : from whence he was called by Gov- I 
ernor Dennison of Ohio, four days after the ■ 
President issued his proclamation recognizing ; 
the existence of the rebellion, to take com* : 
uiand of the troops organizing in the State of : 
Ohio, in obedience to the call of the Presi- 
dent, who, ten days subsequently, placed him I 
iu command of the Department of the Ohio, j 
embracing the States of Ohio, Indiana and I 
Illinois. j 

GEN. MC'CLKLLAX IN WESTERN VIRGINIA. i 

There was no arsenal belonging to the (gen- 
eral Grovernment in his department. The ! 
Western States were wholly unprepared for I 
the struggle. Without arms or munitions of j 
war, or money, belonging to the Greneral Gov- j 
ernment, he Appealed to the State authorities, { 
and the Governors responded promptly to the I 
calls which he made upon them. This ser- ! 
vice of the Governors he acknowledged with all i 
that gratitude which distinguishes a true man. ■ 
Without any plans or instructions from Wash- | 
ington, as to the course he should puisue, find- j 
ing his Department invaded by the rebels, he ' 
proceeded, as he says in his report, " forth- 
with to drive out the enemy." He did it I 
rapidly and effectually. He rolled in the tide j 
of victory from Western Virginia Ijy a sue- i 

. cession *of brilliant exploits which electrified 
the whole country. He proved that the re- 
bellion could and would be conquered by the | 
lo3''al patriotic men of the country, in accor- 
dance with the principles of civilized warfare, 
directed by skilful generals. But his victo- 
ries in Western Virginia were soon clouded 
by the disastrous afiliu.- of Bull Run, which 
had been directed from ofiicial quarters at 
Washington, regardless of the opinions as to 
the plan of the<3ampaign,of the venerable chief 

, tain who was the nominal head of the military 
power, next to the commandei*-in-chief, and 
who had counselled the organization of a more 
powerful army to meet and subdue the rebel 
forces. 

GEN. MC'CLEIiLAN CALLED TO WASHINGTON. 

When the disaster of Bull Hun became 
known at Washington the Government turned 
. at once to the Hero of Western Virginia, call- 
ing him to Washington the very next day. 
He arrived there on the 26tli of July, and 
. forthwith proceeded to organize the scattered 
.'and disorganized forces. There were in all 
;' about 50,000 infantry, less than 1,000 caval- 
:tj, and 650 artillery men, with nine imperfect 



field batteries of thirty pieces. There were 
no provisions for defence against a respecta- 
ble body of the enemy, — nothing to prevent 
the enemy shelling the city from heights with- 
in easy range. Many soldiers had deserted ; 
the streets of Washington were crowded with 
straggling officers and men, absent without 
authority, indicating a general want of disci- 
pline and organization. By the 15th of Oc- 
sober there were in and around Washington 
an efficient, well or^nized army of 143,647 
men. It is not reqtiisite to go into farther de- 
tails as to the condition of the forces at Wash- 
ington. His distinguished services were ac- 
knowledged by the President, who appointed 
him to the chief -and general coimuand of the 
all armies of the Union, In August, and again 
in October, he communicated to the Pres- 
ident, or Secretary of War, his views and 
opinions m cxtenso. On the fourth of Au- 
gust he urged the importance of increasing 
the army, remarking that " the authority of 
the Government must lie supported by over- 
whelming physical force." In October, he 
remarked, " The unity of this nation, the 
preservation of om- institutions, are so dear to 
me that I have willingly sacrificed my private 
happiness, with the single oliject of doing my 
duty to my country. When the task is ac- 
complished I shall )je glad to return to the oh- 
scurity from which events have drawn me." 
Yet, as if conscious of the inability of the ad- 
ministration to understand the magnitude of 
the work before them, he added : " Whatever 
the determination of the Government may be, 
I will do the best I can with the Army of the 
Potomac, and I will share its fate, whatever 
may be the task imposed upon me." 

HIS, COURSE .AS GENERAL-IN-CHIEF- 

, We now come to his course and conduct as 
thp General-in-chief; and we shall find that 
during his administration of that office his 
views and opinions on public afiahs were pre- 
cisely the same as that expressed in his recent 
letter accepting the nomination to the Presi- 
dency. He assumed the duties of this office 
on the 1st of November, 1861, and six days 
thereafter wrote to Gen. Buell, commanding 
the Department of the Ohio, — 

" You will please constantly bear in mind 
the precise issue for which we are fighting. 
That issue is the j^reservation of the Union, 
and the restoration of the full authority of the 
General Government over all portions of our 
territory. We shall most readily i^uppress 
this rebellion, and restore the authority of the 
Government by religiously respecting the con- > 
siitutional rights of all.* I know that I ' 



express the feelings and opinions of the Pres- 
■ ident, -when I say that we are fighting only to 
preserve the integi'ity of the Union and the 
constitutional authority of the General Crovorn- 
ment." "To the same, on the 12th of Novem- 
ber, he said : "As far as military necessi- 
ty will permit, religiously respect the consti- 
tutional rights of all. , It should he our 
constant aim to make it apparent to all that 
their property, their comfort, and their per- 
sonal safety will be best preserved by 
adhering to the cause of the Union." 

Addressing General Halleck, then in ^tis- 
"iosouri, November 11th, he said : " In fe- 
gai-d to the political conduct of affairs you 
will please labor to impress upon the inhabi- 
tants of Missouri and the adjacent States, that 
we are fighting solely for the integrity of the 
Union, to uphold the power of our National 
Government, and to restore to the nation the 
blessings of peace and good order." 

Upon the despatch of the expedition to 
North Carolina, in charge of General Bum- 
side, he wrote in the instiructions to that 
general : — 

"In no case would I go beyond a moderate 
joint proclamation with the naval command- 
er, which should say as little as possil)le 
about politics or the negro. Jlerely state 
that the true issue for which we are fioihtino' 
is the preservation of the Union and uphold- 
ing the laws of the General Government ; and 
stating that all who conduct themselves prop- 
erly will, as far as p t.-sible, be protected in 
their persons and property." 

His orders to all the other generals com- 
manding the armies of the Union were of like 
tenor. He planned the expedition to North 
Carolina, as well as that to New Orleans ; and 
the result of his grand combination was a 
series of brilliant victories, crowned by the 
capture of the defences of New Orleans on 
the 23d of April, exactly one year from the 
day on which Governor Dennison, of Ohio, 
called him fr(fm railroad engineering to mili- 
tary service. Every where, except around 
Washington, victory seemed to favor our 
arms. But the interference of partisans at 
Washington, with the army of the ]*otomac 
and the movements for the reduction of Kich- 
mond, knew no bounds. The President 
himself would seem not to have been his own 
master ; for in several letters to the command- 
er of that army he apologized for interfering 
with the plans of the campaign against Rich- 
mond. These remarkable words occur in the 
President's letter of March 31, 18t)2, apolo- 
gizing to General McClellan for this interfer- 
ence : — 



" If you could know the fiill pressure of 
the case, I am confident that you would justi- 
fy it." And this " pressure " is explained 
by the author * of the histoiy of the Presi- 
dent's administi'ation to mean " the importu- 
nities" of another general and his friends. 
Such were the means resorted to to cripple ' 
and thwart the commander of the army of the 
Potomac in his campaign against the rebel 
capital in 18()2. Then there wa? the ambi- 
tion of the President to be a gi-eat general, 
as evinced in "his plan " for taking Rich- 
mond, which has been exploded by sad expe- 
rience ; while Grant is now closing the great 
work upon the original plan of the, command- 
er of the army of the Potomac. 

But why .'^hould not the President be a 
great general ? Since we are told by his 
biographer that he joined a volunteer compa- 
ny, in 1832, at the age of twenty-three, in 
the Black Hawk War, and thus obtained, in 
the language of that biographer, "a bit of 
military experience." But when the same 
writer adds, that this experience was " much 
more, in fact, than the most of our brigadier- 
generals had had before the commencement of 
the war," he makes an apparently unconscious 
admission of the truth that important com- 
mands have been given to incompetent gene- 
rals, — political speech-makers, transferred 
from generals to judges, electioneering 
•throughout the country for their employers. 
Alas ! how many of our brave soldiers have 
been sacrificed on the field of battle by the 
incompetency of such generals ! It is as if 
the rebel chief had himself designated who 
should direct our battles. Such are the men 
wliose military skill was esteemed superior to 
that of the commander of the army of the 
Potomac. 

INCOMPETENCY IN THE WAR ANI) NAVY 
DEPARTMENT. 

Nothing in all our history is more dis- 
graceful to an administration than the at- 
tempts made, either through carelessness 
or ignorance, or worse, to embarrass the army 
of the Potomac in the campaign against Rich- 
mond, in 18G2. The Navy Department, 
next to the War Department, made its imbe- 
cility most effective for evil upon that occa- 
sion, and had it not been for the onterpri.se of 
private individuals, in sending the little 
"Monitor" to Fortress Monroe in time to 
check the ravages of the rebel " Morriniac," 
the disaster would have been overwhelming. 
Upon this subject I am happy to be able to 

* H. J. Raymond. 



appeal to the testimony of that distinguished 
ship owner, C. H. Marshall, Esq., himself a 
partisan of the administration, who, at a meet- 
ing of the Chamber of Commerce, of this city, 
on the 12th of March, 18G2, offered a series 
of resolutions, which were adopted in the fol- 
lowing shape : — 

"Whereas, the National Government has 
been furnished by the people of the loyal 
States with ample means for taking all precau- 
tions necessary to guard the public interest 
and the private property of citizens at every 
exposed jjoint, as well as to prosecute the war 
with vigor and success ; and whereas, in the 
recent disastrous engagement in Hampton 
Roads, by a sudden attack of the enemy, 
which our naval forces were wholly unpre- 
pared to resist, many lives have been sacri- 
ficed, several national vessels destroyed, the 
flag of the Union lowered to rebels, and dis- 
credit brought on the Government of the 
country ; therefore, 

" Resolved, That, in the opinion of this 
Chamber, the chief cause of this disaster lies 
in the culpable neglect by which the defences 
in Hampton Roads were suffered to remain, 
after a knowledge of the near completion of 
the rebel ironclad steamer Merrimac, witli no 
other protection than one steam-frigate (the 
Minnesota), one disabled steam-frigate (the 
Roanoke), whose shafts, which had been 
broken for four months, might have been 
replaced during any two of those months, and 
two or three sailing vessels. 

' • Resolved, That under the protecting care 
of Providence, the safety of the property and 
life in the waters connected with Hampton 
Roads, if not also of other important harbors 
on the Atlantic coast, are due to the scientific 
skill of Ericsson, who designed the Monitor, 
and to the active, energetic, and gallant con- 
duct of Lieut. Commanding Worden, and 
those under his command, who successfully 
defended the honor of the national flag. 

" Resolved, That the President of the Unit- 
ed States be respectfully requested to adopt 
efficient measures for the future protection of 
Hampton Roads. 

" Resolved, That, in the opinion of this 
Chamber, the bill now pending in Congress, 
for building ton mail-clad vessels, ought to be 
passed without delay, 

" Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions, 
under seal of the Chaiidjcr, be sent to the 
President of the United States." 

Many vessels of war built under the direction 
of the Navy Department have proved such 
failures that they cannot, actually, float, .upon 



the water. But, although the bead of that 
department is the greatest failure of all, let- 
us remember that we have commanders in the 
navy who are not failures, — men like Farra- 
GUT, WiNSLOw, DuPONT, PoRTER ! When 
the navy was required at Fortress Monroe to 
co-operate in the attack on Richmond, in 
1862, Goldsborough was sent to North Caro- 
lina, and the fleet at the mouth of the James 
River was left without a flag-officer ! 

The James River, now open for naval co- 
operation with Grant, was then closed to our 
transports ; and it is a remarkable fact that 
the delay in the movements of the army of 
the Potomac, caused by the rebel iron-clad, 
Merrimac, closing the James to our transports, 
was really made to appear to be the fault of 
the general-in-chief of the army. For in- 
stance, the Merrimac emerged from her 
hiding-place on the 8th of March, and spread 
havoc throughout the U. S. squadron, until 
checked the following day by the Monitor : 
on the 11th of March, the President removed 
General McClellan from the office of general- 
in-chief; and the President's biographer 
wholly omits to mention the delay caused by 
the neglect of the Navy Department to pro- 
\'ide the requisite force to subdue or blockade 
the rebel monster. That cause of delay was 
not, certainly, chargeable to General McClel- 
lan. The advance was ordered for the 22d 
of February ; but it was not until the 11th 
of May that the career of the IMerrimac was 
terminated. The utter inability of the Pres- 
ident and the Cabinet to compreliend the 
magnitude of the rebellion, notwithstanding 
the repeated suggestions of the ablest com- 
manders in the sei-vice, was painfully mani- 
fest in the movements of the army of the 
Potomac throughout the whole progress of 
events, ending with the battle of Antietam. 
More than this, the course of those events 
demonstrated the absurdity, to use no harsher 
term, of men at the head of the Government 
undertaking to direct great Inilitary move- 
ments pertaining to the science of war, of 
which tiiey were wholly ignorant. Mr. Sew- 
ard recently took occasion to compliment 3Ir. 
Stanton with his military proficiency, — the; 
village lawyers constituting the administra-i 
tion being a mutual admiration society, — but 
Stanton's successes have resulted wholly fromi 
his adherence to the original plans of INlcClel- 
lan, and his failures have usually resulted 
from departing from those plans, or from his 
inability to comprehend them. Mr. Lincoln's 
plans, and the plans of Mr. Stanton, for the 
campaign of the summer of 1862, were 



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persisted in long enough to defeat Gen. 
McClellan's plan. That was the end of the 
campaign on the Peninsula. 

GEN. MC'OLELLAN AGAIN SAVES WASHINGTON, 
AND GAINS THE VICTORY AT ANTIBTAM. 

Having got the army of the Potomac back 
to protect Washiugtou, at the close of August, 
1862, the President placed General Pope iii 
command, leaving Gen. McOlellan without 
any forces at Alexandria, where he could hoar 
the sound of the guns in the battles which 
Gen. Pope was fighting with the eueuiy. Gen. 
McClellan asked permission to go to the front, 
that he might by his presence encourage the 
men he had so long been associated with. It 
was not granted. He was kept there, strip- 
ped of command, until news of the disaster 
to Gen. Pope's army reached Washington, 
when the President and Gen. Halleck hm-- 
ried early in the morning to Gen. McClellan's 
residence, and placed the national capital and 
its defences once more in his hands. That 
was on the 2d of September. Again Gen. 
McClellan concentrated and reorganized a 
broken army, and led them to victory upon 
his own plans, without interference. Thirteen 
days after he took command, when the news 
of the defeat of the rebels began to readi 
Washington, the President telegraphed to 
him: " Your despatch of to-day received. God 
bless you, and all with you. Destroy the 
rebel army, if possible."' The battles termi- 
nated on the 17th of September, and that 
night our forces slept, conquerors, upon the 
battle-field of Antietam. 

GEN. ^C'CLELLAN AGAIN JIEMOVED. 

On the 7th of November Gen. McClellan 
was removed from command and Gen. Bum- 
side appointed in his place. 

The man who, within nineteen months, 
had twice saved the capital, who had three 
times organized an eflfective army, who first 
rolled in the tide of victory over this most 
cruel rebellion, who planned those combina- 
tions which resulted so victoriously wherever 
they could be carried out without interference 
of political partisans, — that man was set 
aside; and village lawyers, in their pride of 
power and of place, have now the audacity to 
boast the success of his plans as theh own. 
But mark the patriotic docility witli which 
tliis much abused general submitted to ;dl 
that his superior officers were pleased to in- 
flict upon him. When removed from the office 
of General-in-chief, he wrote to the Presi- 
dent : — 

" IbeUeve I said to you some weeks since, 



in connection with some Western matters, that 
no feeling of self-interest or ambition should 
ever prevent me from devoting myself to the 
service. I am glad to have the opportunity 
to prove it ; and you will find, that, under pres- 
ent circumstances, I shall work just as cheer- 
fully as before, and that no consideration of 
self, will, in any manner, interfere witli the 
discharge of my public duties." 

When stripped of his command, at Alexan- 
dria, hearing the battle raging in the distance, 
he wrote to Gen. Halleck : — 

" 1 cannot express to you the pain and 
mortification I have experienced to-day in list- 
ening to the distant sound of the firing of 
my men. As I can be of no further use here, 
I respectfully ask that if there is a proba- 
bility of the conflict being renewed to-morrow, 
I may be permitted to go to the scene of bat- 
tle with my staff, merely to be with my own 
men, if nothing more : they will fight none 
the worse for my being with them."' 

All who have served with him bear testi- 
mony to the affection which his men entertain 
for him. His .solicitude for the welfare of his 
men, his skilful manoeuvring to achieve vie-, 
tory at the smallest possible sacrifice of life, 
his i>ersonal bravery in battle, his consummate 
abilities as a general, and the purity of his 
character, readily account for that atfection. 
It is due to the President to say that he fre- 
quently acknowledged Gen. McClellan's great 
abilities as a commander. At the close of the 
campaign on the Peninsula, July 5, 1862, 
the President wrote to him : — 

" Be assured, the heroism and skill of your- 
self, officers, and men, is [are] and forever 
will be appreciated." Again : '' All ac- 
counts say better fighting was never done. 
Ten thousand thanks for it." 

WHY THE ADMINISTRATION WISHED TO CRUSH 
GEN. MC'CLELLAN. 

It may well be asked why the President 
and, Mr. vStanton treated (Jen. jlcClellan as 
they did. The President himself has given 
the key to this secret, in his despateli referring 
to the '■ pressure " brouglit to bear upon him. 
by the politicians, to reduce Gen. Mct'lellan's 
forces. Gen. McClellan was to be crushed if 
possible. He could not be made subservient 
to the schemes of the politicians ; and the re- 
cent attempt of the elder Mr. Blair, to pre- 
vent the general being a candidate in opposi- 
tion to President Lincoln, is the last link in 
that complete chain of evidence wliich fastens 
the intrigue upon the administration. The 
slowuoss of the General's movements, with the 
inadequate forces and raw Jevies under his 



command, against a more numerous force 
fighting upon the defensive, was seized as a 
pretext to find fault with hiin. Ho has been 
vindicated by the terrible sacrifices made by 
those who have adopted or pursued different 
plans ti'oni his. The politicians have shown 
how absurd it is to expect success in arms, 
" when campaigns are intrusted to men who 
have no knowledge of war." Gen. Naglee, 
of Philadelphia, has. in a recent letter, dated 
the 2Tth of last month, made a full disclosure 
of the efibrts of Mr. Stanton to destroy Gen. 
McClellan, and of the rudeness with which 
he carried his plans with the President. Mr. 
Stanton, it seems, aspired to the distinction 
of a great general, and the chief of the cabi- 
net, Mr. Seward, has recently introduced him 
to the jtublic in that capacity. Gen. Naglee 
states that as soon as Gen. McClellan left 
Washington, for the Peninsular Campaign, — 
all the arrangements for which had been made, 
and approved by the President and a council 
of Generals, 31cClellan"s /wre to he two hun- 
dred thousand iiien, — Stanton relieved him 
of all the armies not under his immediate 
command, and assumed command of them him- 
self. But it is too painful to follow the de- 
tails of Stanton's generalship and intrigues, 
and I refer to Gen. Naglee's letters for the 
humiliating facts of the case. 

MR. LINCOLNS ^VPOLOGY TO GEN. MC'CLELLAN. 

The President, on olst March, 1862, ap- 
jjears to have been fully conscious of the mor- 
tifying situation he was placed in by Mr. 
Stanton and the politicians; fur in his despatch 
of that date to General McClellan, announcing 
the breaking up of the original plan of the 
campaign, lie confesses tint he was pursuing 
a course which gave him " great pain.'" Let 
us hope that on the 4th of March next, at 
noon, General McClellan will relieve him of 
all such " pain." 

The President's apology to General Mc- 
Clellan for breaking up the plan of the cam- 
paign referred to something else besides 
" pain." That despatch speaks of "■ pres- 
sure " in the case, and the President's his- 
torian alludes to the political friends of another 
general as making this '■ pressure." But 
that despatch made no reference to duty, 
to the sacredness of the inaugural oath, to 
the interests of the nation, the preservation 
of the Union, the suppression of the rebellion, 
&,c. Oh, no ! That despatch is not '" honest 
old Abe." It is Abraham Lincoln the poli- 
tician, the sorry transgressor confessing his 
inic[uity, dividing the spoils of office, and regu- 
lating the scramble of the office-seekers, pan- 
i 



dering to the lust for office, aimmg at a 
re-election and the humiliation of a rising 
competitor, pushed on by Stanton at his back. 
No double-dealing has ever been charged 
upon General McClellan. Ever honest and 
frank, he is always consistent with himself 
General Naglee says that Stanton pretended 
to doul)t his loyalty to the Union. That has 
been the trick of the corrupt minions of the 
administration, ever since the rebellion broke 
out, in regard to any one who would not 
unite with them in their schemes of personal 
gain or partisan aggrandizement. At first, 
any man who remonstrated against going or 
sending some one to the cells of Port Lafayette 
at the bidding of Mr. Seward, was denounced 
as a "secessionist; " and now " acopperliead " 
is the favorite epithet with those who arrogate 
to themselves the attributes of infallUnlity in 
the administration of the Government, ^^'e 
are told that the administration is the Govern- 
ment, and that the Government, like tlie king 
in a despotism, "can do no wrong." This 
is the divine right of kings in a new shape. 
It certainly is the right di\ane to govern 
wrong, so far as Messrs. Lincoln, Seward, 
Stanton, and Welles are concerned. 

GEN. MC'CLELLAN 'a STKAIGHT-FORWARD CHAR- 
ACTER. 

I have said that General McClellan has 
always proved consistent with himself. Li 
July, 1862, writing to the President, he said, 
" The Constitution and the Union must be 
preserved." He says the same thing, only 
more forcibly, in his recent letter accepting 
tho nomination : " The Union nmst be pr.t- 
scrved at all hazards." There Lsjio double- 
dealing in thc^Je words. Like his military 
campaign in Western Virginia, they are di- 
rect, energetic, and decisive. And he always 
means exactly what he says: in this respect, 
his writings more resemble those of Wasliing- 
ton than any other hero's with which I am 
acquainted. Lideed, there is a purity of 
style in all his writings, a straiglitforward 
honesty, exactly like that of Washington's 
despatches, letters, and State papers. With 
Washington, the Union — that Union which 
constitutes us our people — the Union which 
confers upon us the attributes of a nation — 
the Union which gives us a country and a 
flag — was the first, the highest object of 
affection, next to God. So it is with McClel- 
lan, — "the Union at all hazards." His 
character is a reflex of that of Washington in' 
his religious devotion. Washington, in all 
bis gi-eat battles as well as in the ordinary 
occdrrences of life, sought the aid and guid- 



ance of Almighty wisdom and power. So 
with McClcllan : the same spotless purity of 
private life, which distinguished the one, char- 
acterizes the other. 

THE COIIRUPX TARTISAN POLICY OF THE AD- 
MINISTIIATION. 

Lot US now turn to the public character, 
the pulicy, and the conduct of the men com- 
posing the administration which has expelled 
this groat and good general from the army, 
and heaped upon him all these thankful indig- 
nities. 

In April, 1861, when the conspirators 
seized Fort Sumter, there was a universal 
cry of indignation. No man ever had a 
fairer chance than i\Ir. Lincoln then had of 
making himself the rallying point of all loyal 
citizens. The state of the country ought to 
have dictated such a policy. But instead of 
an accommodation to the circumstances, the 
tone of administration bore an analogy to that 
of Louis the Fom-teenth iu the meridian of his 
glory and his triumphs. Party spirit might 
have been disarmed of its rancor, had he 
carried into effect his own declarations as set 
forth in his inauguration s}Xiech, and we 
should not have had the unfortunate divisions 
that still exist amongst us. But he has taken 
a different stand, and placed himself as the^ 
chief of a faction. The road to favor is 
through the quagmire of party discipline ; and 
the recommendation to notice is to be esti- 
mated by the devotion to the doctrines of cer- 
tain political sectaiies. The dangers and the 
corruptions and the prodigies of the times have 
put an end to all neutrality in polities. The 
Crovernraent is in the hands of a most per- 
nicious faction. It is the task, it is the 
duty, of the friends of liberty and order — 
the old Jeffersonian and Jackson democrats, 
and the old constitutional whigs of the Clay 
and Webster school — to unite together and 
exert themselves ; for every hour the rising 
tides ai'e eating away the narrow isthmus upon 
which the adh(!rents of thq Constitution are 
stationed ; and every hour it becomes more 
necessary to oppose some barrier to these en- 
croachments. 

I will not insult you, at such a moment as 
the present, with any notice of the squabbles 
in the cabinet, of the recriminations of the ad- 
herents of Cliase and Seward, the rivals for 
tlie succession. Mr. Lincoln has been nomin- 
ated for re-election, and Messrs. Chase and 
Blair have been removed ri<;n offi<;i!, — the. 
last named gentleman, you will remember, 
was expelled from the cabinet not Ion" if"' r 
his father had failed to induce Genci 



Clellan to decline the nomination to the Presi- 
dency. By the expulsion of Caraenm, Chase, 
and Blair, the unscrupulous Seward, and his 
notorious adherents, have secured in their own 
hands the whole patronage of tlie Government. 
Hiram Barney is summarily ejected from tho' 
custom house in this city, where, as else- 
where, the poor clerks have been summoned 
to give up a portion of their earnings to the 
party leaders. 

Time fails to enable me to give all the 
changes and movements effected by Seward, 
who is now in the ascendency and in undis- 
puted control. His f)lans are far-reaching 
and sagacious, as they have ever been, i will 
let him speak for himself ; In November 1863. 
he repaired to Auburn, and made a speech in 
which he fulminated the thieat that if his par- 
ty did not carry the tlien pending electicm, 
the Ship of State would be " diifted and dash- 
ed " against the rocks of a lee shore. And he 
added, as to the election this fall : — " What 
if they (the Democratic party) sliould thMi 
succeed in electing a President in l^'o4. 
against the majority who elected Abraham 
Lincoln in 1860 ? Can that majority be 
expected to acquiesce without voting and with- 
out bloodshed V Certainly not : and then you 
have perpetual civil war, which is nothing else 
than perpetual anarchy." 

Here is a threat of repeating the very crime 
— that horrible and greatest civil crime — 
which the rebels committed. Seward was sup- 
posed to have been in a state of mental de- 
rangement when he made that speech, and 
very little attention was paid to it at the time. 
Recently, however, the recollection of it ha.s 
been brought to the public mind by repetition 
of the same threat, during another visit to 
xluburn, in another speech which he made 
there a few weeks ago. Here is the form in 
which he made the threat in tliis last speech : 
' ' If such a thing could happen as that the 
Chicago candidate, nominated upon such an 
agreement, should be elected Prfisident of the 
United States on the first Tuesday of Novem- 
ber next, who can vouch for the safety of the 
country against the rebels, during the inter- 
val which must elapse before the new admin- 
istration can constitutionally come into power V 
It seems to me that such an election would 
tend equally to demoralize the Union, and to 
invite the insurgents to renew their eff)rt3 for 
its destruction." 

He would be a traitor, you observe, in 1863, 
wtvu ip ''-I'll .■+■ '■■ Muod'^lK'u ; " lM^^ 'h<> 
h -. to take tho * 

,,,.,-. ,.,.,.., ;iMiothi.h(:. l-k;^'. ., 



^uuliag fright 



and ^l* 



sr 



Tri a few weeks more he will be prepared to 
welcome General McClellan with open arms ; 
and urge him to come to Washington at once, 
and prepare to enter upon his duties as Presi- 
dent on the 4th of March next. Yes ; and I 
have no douht that Mr. Seward will declare 
that his dear and intimate friend, Mr. Thur- 
low Weed, and himself, desired nothing m 
much as the election of General McClellan 
to the presidency. I have no doubt that in 
less than a month the parlors of Mr. Seward 
will be thrown open fof the reception of Geu- 
enJ McClellan and his friends, if they will 
only walk into them. 

As to the unconstitutional acts of the admin- 
istration, Mr. Lincoln's own friends. Sena- 
tor Wade, of Ohio, and Henry Winter Davis, 
representative from Maryland, were constrain- 
ed to issue a formal protest against his attempt 
to override the constitution and the proceed- 
ings of Congress relative to the re-organization 
of loyal governments in the rebel States. 
l>oes Mr. Linclou believe that the American 
people could ever be imposed upon by such 
re-organizations : that they would ever ap- 
prove of a system by which corruijtion would 
pay for votes in part, and fear force the re- 
mainder ? Who at this time of day is un- 
acquainted with the springs and wires that 
would be employed in such a miserable puppet 
show ? How can the loyal people in those 
States believe themselves free and sovereign, 
when they would be made to take an oath, as 
a test to give them the right of voting V What 
could they object to all this, surrounded by 
armed men ? They would only have to hold 
their tongues, and to bow down their heads be- 
fore their masters. But he will probably 
abandon the attempt to re-elect himself by the 
votes of such States, for the recent State elec- 
tions must admonish him, in the same words 
he applied to Mr. Montgomery Blair, when 
turning him out of the Cabinet a few days ago, 
that " his time has come." 

The arbitary arrests made by Seward and 
Stanton in places where rebellion did not ex- 
ist, were wholly injitstifiable and unnecessiiry ; 
because the constitutional forms of law could 
have been gone through with, in perfect 
safety. 

Arbitary imprisonment and punishment 
upon mere suspicion, most vexations and odious 
instruments of despotic power, have been em- 
ployed on several occasions and in many in- 
•sUinees in places where there were no military 
operations. Barriere, hi a report made to the 
' Hition during • *^''n in 

to a huv :>- 



mercy is the first sacrifice which a good repuib- 
lican owes to his country. In onler to 
jweserve the vigor of the goverument, an 
institution, tei'rible indeed but necessary, has 
l)ecn disseminated throughout all the sections, 
(Sec. I mean the laio for the arrest of sus- 
pected persons. The keen and piercing eye 
of jealous liberty has been tixed upon every 
citizen, has penetrated into every family, and 
pervaded every habitation. Public opinion 
lias marked out the persons who ought to be 
.'^uspected, and they have accordingly fallen 
under the severity of the law.'' Thus you 
have explained to you the principal advantages 
l)oth of the theory and practice of the system 
of arbitrary arrest. It contains the principle 
of impartial persecution, equally applicable 
to the separate interests of every distinct class 
and description of the people, from the farmer 
and the banker and merchant down to the in- 
dustrious manufacturer and hard working 
mechanic and day laborer. Are these the 
arts of government? Are these the means l)y 
which the discordant interests and the c<m- 
tending passions of our people can be brought 
to act in concert 'i I speak to men affection- 
ately attached to the general principles of 
liberty — men accustomed to think on what- 
ever can effect their interests and their hap 
pmess. Among such men, I am persuaded 
that I shall not be contradicted, if I were to 
contend that a tyranny so constituted must o£ 
necessity be odious to the people. rft 

GEN. MC'CLELLAn's PLAN OF PUTTING DOWN 
THE REBELLION. 

As to slavery, whose votaries, commencing 
the rebellion, have destroyed themselves, 
General SlcClellan .showed how to deal with 
it constitutionally and effectuaMy. It is not 
requisite to exterminate the people of the 
South to effect the subjugation of the rebel- 
lion. The rebels are fighting now only for 
terms of surrender. General McClellan be- 
gan the conquest in Western Virginia, and 
would have completed it long since had he 
Ijeen permitted. His plan was and is a very 
simple and effective one. In Western Vir- 
ginia it was simply this, to " proceed forth- 
with," as he stated, to drive the rebels out. 
That was in April, 18G1. In July fol- 
lowing, he coumiunicated it to the President, 
and it was, in his own words, " to crush out 
the rebellion in its very heart." In Ocnober 
of the same year, addressing the Secretary 
of War, he declared that "the great object 
to be accomplished " was ' ' the crushing de- 
feat of the rebel army." In all his letters, 
^ offipial as well as private, — and in all his re* 







ports, — the same plan is advocated. In his 
West-Point speech, he declared that the only 
alternative for our choice is " the suppression 
of the rebellion or the destruction of our na- 
tionality, '^nd that if we let the South go, as 
Mr. Suuincr and others proposed, we would 
encounter " the fate of tne divided republics 
of Italy and South America," and fly into 
fragments, at endless war with each other. 
In his letter of acceptance, so full of noble 
patriotic sentiments, ho declares over and 
over again the same sentijnents. 

As for example, his appeal to his whole 
"course" througli life, to the " record" of 
his public life, to his " long and varied ser- 
vices," to his " love and reverence" for the 
Union, and declaring, explicitly, that the war 
is for "the preservation of our Union," 
"the re-establishnieut of the Union in all its 
integrity," and that "the Union must be 
preserved at all hazards." Now, contrast" 
this straightforward policy with the side is- 
sues which the administration and its adher- 
ents have raised, and the fickle, changing, 
ever-vaiying course of the President, who 
seems too weak to resist what he terms 
"pressure." In his card to whom it may 
concern, last summer, he refused to permit 
any one to approach him from the rebel 
States to negotiate peace without ]^X)wer to 
negotiate also for the abolition of slavery ; but, 
a few days thereafter, he lets Seward go to 
Auburn to declare that, the rebel States may 
come back with their slaves and slavery. It 
is, indeed, true, as he said to- the people of 
Kentucky in his celebrated conversation 
with the two visitors from that State, that he 
has not sought to control events, but has let 
events control him. Hence it is that his 
course has resembled the weather-cock, 
changing with every wind, in every direction, 
constantly " boxing the compass," as sailors 
term it. His platform is one thing one day, 
and another the next. But General McClel- 
len's platform never varies : it is always the 
same, and has always been the same. It is 
the Union, the Constitution, the laws, the sup- 
pression of the rebellion, confiscation and the 
destruction of slavery under the constitution, 
wherever and whenever a rebel can be found 
in arras. He does not say as 3Ir. Suinnor 
said, in substance, a few days ago in Faneuil 
Hall. Boston, that we must destroy the Con- 
stitution in order to complete confiscation and 
abolition ; and let them go, rather than have 
them come back with their tattered rag of 
slavery. Xo : Gen. McClellan would not de- 
stroy the Constitution to complete the de- 
struction of any national evil ; but he would. 



destroy every such evil in accordance with 
the principles of the Constitution. He 
would not set the house on fire, and burn it 
down, in order to clean out the soot that hud 
gathered in the chimney. Ho would clean 
out the chinmcy. But to burn down the 
house, and drive all the family out of doors, 
seems to be the settled aim and policy of Mr. 
Lincoln's party. And here is precisely the 
difference which exists, and which ha,s existed 
in all ages, between radical men and conser- 
vative men. The radical would destroy. 
He would tear down, burn down, and crush 
out any thing that stood in the way of his 
ambition or aims. Just so with Messrs 
Sumner and Stanton, &c. The conservative, 
on the other hand, would preserve whatever 
there is that is useful, and repair and improve 
it — reform it, patch it, mend it — and 
change it to conform to the progress of the 
age and the most enlightened Christian civil- 
ization. 

Hence it is that radicals are always revo- 
lutionary, t-urbulent, and rebellious, and pecu- 
liai'ly dangerous in a republic, as we now 
find, by sad experience, from their insurrec- 
tionary violence in our Southern States. 
And hence, also, the impossibility of peace, 
so long as the radicals of the South reign at; 
llichmoud, and the radicals of the Constitu- 
tional Government are in power at Wash- 
ington, The rebel leader fastened himself 
upon the Southern people for six years, and 
they cannot shake him off now, although they 
are well known to be heartily sick of him 
and his rebellion. But we can remove our 
radical rulers, in accordance with our Con- 
stitution and laws, and thus prepare the way 
for peace and reconciliation as early, at the 
very farthest, as 186G, when Davis's term 
expires, and he will no longer have any pow- 
er over the rebels. My own opinion is, how- 
ever, that the election of Gen. McClellan 
next month will give us peace in thirty days, 
or within six months thereafter ; l^cca^l^e, if 
the rebels wdl not submit at once, he will, a.s 
he did in Western Virginia, to use his own 
words, " proceed forthwith to drive them " 
into submission, tvit/i such a force as it iriU 
he impossible for them to resist ; and if Jeff. 
Davis does nut give up, he will be forceil to 
escape probably into Mexico for lapin'thend 
that Mr. WoUs's successor, under General Mc- 
Clellan, will stop Jefferson Tavis's blockade 
runners, and shut up the Atlantic coast com- 
pletely. We shall then get the cotton crop, 
and, by a tax on it, pay our national debt, and 
resume specie payments. Our debt, I know, 
i^ assuming frightful proportions; and al- 



10 



though poor Mr. Chafee has been made the 
sole seape-goat of the financial blunders of 
the administratioH, ]Mr. Lincoln and his cab- 
inet and friends cannot escape their share of 
the odium. It is notorious that Mr. Seward 
and all his friends, among whom Mr. Spald- 
ing, of this State — whom the -people com- 
pelled afterwards to stay at home — was pe- 
culiarly ofiicious, did every thing in their 
power to drive on the paper-money issues. 
^Ir. Fessenden is now doing what he can to 
repair the evil ; but he does it bunglingly, 
having had no practical skill. 

THE GOLD bill; THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONISTS. 

He (Mr. Fessenden) deserves great credit, 
however, for getting the gold bill repealed. 
That, by the way, was one of Seward and 
Chase's greatest schemes : they pushed it 
through Congress with all their power, not- 
withstanding the remonstrances of business 
men of skill and experience. It was so out- 
rageous, however, it was so much like the 
mad projects of the French Revolutionists of 
the last century, that it speedily worked its 
own cure, thanks to the intelligent and docile 
patriotism of our own great and good people. 
I must here call your attention to a remarka- 
ble statement, given by a distinguished states- 
man, of the fiscal operations of the French 
Eevolutionary Grovernment, in 1793, to pro- 
cure gold and silver, which is particularly 
applicable to the present times : he says, " It 
will appear rather extraordinary that the first 
measure taken with this view should have 
been the proscription of tliose metals. A let- 
ter is received by the Minister of Finance 
from Fouche, commissioner in several of the 
departments, in which he expresses great in- 
dignation against gold and silver. He says, 
" tlold and silver have been the causes of all 
the calamities of the republic. I know not 
by what weak compliance those metals are 
still suffered to remain in the hands of sus- 
pected persons : let us degrade and vilify 
gold and silver ; let us fling these deities of 
monarchy in the dirt, and establish the wor- 
ship of the austere virtues of a republic."' 
He however adds : "I send you seventeen 
chests filled with gold, silver, and plate of all 
sorts, the spoil of churches and castles : you 
will see with peculiar pleasure two crosiers, 
and a ducal coronet of silver gilt." This in- 
genious idea of vilifying and degrading valu- 
able effects by seizing them for the use of the 
republic is- not lost upon the Minister of Fi- 
nance. A few days after the receipt of this 
letter, a citizen appears at the bar, and de- 
sires to be permitted to exchange certain 



pieces of gold and silver bearing the itaage 
of the tyrant for republican paper. This 
patriotic and disinterested offer, as you may 
imagine, was gladly accepted by tk> Conven- 
tion ; but upon a motion being made that hon- 
orable mention of ^he transaction should be 
inserted in the notes, the Minister of Finance 
rises with the utmost indignation to oppose so 
monstrous a proposition. He delivers a most 
eloquent and vehement invectiA-e against gold 
and silver : he says, " In a short time the 
world will be too hTippy, if we should deign 
to receive pieces of metal bearing the efiigy 
of tyrants in exchange for Kepublican a.?sig- 
nats ; already the whole nation rejects and 
despises those coiTupting metals, which tyrants 
originally brought from America for the sole 
purpose of enslaving us. I have in contem- 
plation the plan of a sumptuary law, by which 
I will drive tb.e vile dung once m»ore into the 
bowels of the earth." What was the sumptu- 
ary law by which the Minister of Finance 
proposed to accomplish this salutary reform ? 
Here is that excellent law. " All gold and 
silver metal in specie or'plate, all jewels, gold 
and silver lace, or valuable effects which shall 
be -discovered huried in the enrth, or con- 
cealed in cellars, walls, rubbish, floors or 
pavements, hearths or chimnej^s, or in any 
secret place, shall be seized and confiscated 
for the use of the Republic ; and the inform- 
er shall receive a twentieth part of the value 
of whatever he shall discover, to be paid in 
assignats." Concealment alone is the crime 
on which the law attaches, without even any 
of the ordinary pretences of disaffection. In 
consequence of this decree, every place in 
which it was possible to conceal treasure is 
searched with the utmost rigor ; the privacy 
of every house is violated ; every cellar and 
garden is dug up ; and the Minister of Fi- 
nance, with the most unrelenting spirit of 
persecution, pursues the objects of his hatred 
and contempt even to the bowels of the earth, 
where he had threatened to drive them. 

THE NATIONAL FINANCES. i 

As to our financial condition, perhaps I' 
ought not to say much here — I have said a 
great deal on that subject within the past 
three years. I confess I am now very anx- 
ious about the future state of our finances. 
If Lincoln' should be re-elected, I look 
with dread and alarm to our future financial 
situation. I tremble to think of what will bo 
the condition of our people, when I call to 
mind the project of such financiers as Thad. 
Stevens of Penns^'lvania, Chairman of the 
Committee of Ways and Means of the House, 



IX 



who would Uiue a thousand millions of paper 
money, a,n(l pny the interest of the national 
de})t with it, — who would run the barrel of 
flour up to tlilrty dojlais and the ton of coal 
to foriy dollars, rather than lay taxes to pay 
for the ,v.'ar ;;s faV as po.srflble, as wc go along ; 
I say I am greatly apprehensive of terrible 
financial disaster if Lincoln, be re-elected. 

I do not know ihat 1 can better explain the 
financial policy of Lincoln and Seward than 
by giving you the substance of a speech which 
was delivered in the Senate, by Senator Sher- 
man, of Ohio, in 3Iay last. It was reported 
in the Washington Daily Globe of June 1st, 
1864. 

The Hon. Senator spoke with that consci- 
ousness of authority and in that imperative 
tone which implied a conviction that his man- 
dates were to be obeyed, and that no differences 
of opinion were to be permitted to swerve the 
power v/hich he represented from going for- 
ward in the path he directed. It is, there- 
fore, of the greatest importance to the finan- 
cial interests of the country that the princi- 
ples and theories enunciated in this speech 
should be tlio roughly understood. 

The leading topic of the speech is the new 
national banking system. He explicitly de- 
clares that the [ja[)er money to be issued by 
the new banks is to be made to take the place 
of every other kind of paper money, whether 
of the Government or the State banks. Hav- 
ing explained his plan " to compel the banks " 
to withdraw their ch-culation — to "compel 
them to do so by taxation " — he proceeds to 
declare that it is the policy of the Government 
to reduce the volume of the issues of legal- 
tender paper money, and to finally supersede 
these issues altogether with the notes of the 
new national banks. Of the circulation of 
all kinds then in cxl-stence, he says : — 

'■ This large redundant circulation must be, 
retired as rapidly as possible, but I ask you 
how it can be done now, with two systems of 
banks rivals witli each other. Suppose the 
.Government desires to reduce the cii-culating 
medium. The very moment tbe Governnlent 
commences reducing its circulation, that very 
moment these banks would commence to in- 
crease theirs." 

1 That is to say, the old banks would issue 
their own notes and encounter the risk of 
bankruptc}^ if the Government did not supply 
legal-tender notes to them. This is the same 
blander that iMr. Hooper made in the House, 
when he attempted to conceal the fact that it 
is the excess of the Government legal-tender 
notes which enables the old banks, as well 



as the now banks, to put out their own 
notes. 

i.Ir. Sheriuan explains tlie plans of the 
Government, relative to the issues of the new 
banks taking the place of its own, in these 
words : — 

'• I take it to be the policy of the Govern- 
ment, as it is the plainest dictate of reason, 
to retii'o its cuculation as fast as the national 
, Ijank currency is issued. We can do it by 
funding ; we can do it in various ways. We 
must do it. If the United States continue 
to issue its own notes in the form of cuiTcncy, 
and also authorize national bank notes to 
be issued /)«?•«' passu, both together, in over- 
whelming amounts, as a matter of course the 
result would be ^o destroy all values ; but I 
take it that it is and must be the policy of the 
Government to retii-e as rapidly as possible 
the United States notes, and to substitute for 
them the national currency." 

Not one word of explanation is given as 
to the mode in which this new " national cur- 
rency " is to be redeemed in real money, or 
how specie pajonents are to be resumed under 
the new system. WHien it was proposed in 
the Senate to have the new banks accumulate 
a part of the specie obtained by them for in- 
terest on the Government stocks held by them, 
so as to prepare for resumption of specie pay- 
ments, he opposed it. And having explained 
how the new banks are to be made to furnish 
a paper money, to supersede that of the Gov- 
ernment, upon the basis of the capital sub- 
scribed by private citizens, one would natural- 
ly suppose that he would complete his tlu.'ory 
with an explanation of the mode in which 
specie payment could be resumed by the Gov- 
ernment and the new banks ; but he is si- 
lent on this point : it is all paper, paper. 
He does not propose to make the new bank 
notes a legal tender : that would conflict 
with the Constitution. He says, indeed, that 
" the national bank currency will bo better, 
and in less danger of repudiation, than the 
greenbacks;" but he does not make it ap- 
pear how they are to be made any better, ex- 
cept through the seizure of the capital of the 
private citizens invested in or deposited with 
the new banks, which, he says, " are alwaijs 
within the poiver of Congress: every man 
tvho goes into them knows that the system 
must be so conducted that the public se}iti- 
m>jit will sustai7i them, or else theg will go 
to the wall. Tlie law organizing them may 
he repealed, and they may be driven out at 
any time by the power of Congress. They 
are under bonds for good behavior. They 



12 



jile in the oaults of the United States more 
than the amount of their circulation in bonds 
of the United States taken at this time 
when it is necessary to sell our bo7ids." 

This is the currency and banking sys- 
tem, thus prepared to become the cat's-paw 
of partisan strife and caprice, that is to su- 
persede that standard of value in real mon- 
ey, which the constitution has established ! 
One of the principal supporters of the sys- 
tem has thus clearly defined the policy by 
which it is to be controlled. The expose 
is opportune. The people can now see the 
whole scheme. It is plainly an organized 
system for controlling the party politics of 
the couuLry. It is the reflex of the old 
United States bank, and the State " pet 
bank," systems. It is a complete union of 
partisan organizations with banking associ- 
ations, under the pretext of getting posses- 
sion of the circulating medium of the coun- 
try for the relief of the Government, instead 
of borrowing money upon bonds or treasury 
notes. The people have again and again 
frowned upon these schemes of partisans to 
make the economical affairs of the country 
the play-things of party. So they will 
again. 

He confounds a paper money with money 
composed of the precious metals, compar- 
ing the assumed power to issue the former 
to the power of coining the latter j and thus 
misrepresents the operation of the natural 
laws governing monetary systems. 

He compares the probable fate of the 
funded stocks, or debt of the United States, 
had Government issued bonds instead of 
notes, with that of the legal-tender paper 
money known as " assign-ats," issued in 
France, to prove the wisdom of adopt- 
ing the legal-tender issues nov/ iij use in 
this country. 

He refrains from explaining the ruinous 
teudencjes of the amount of bank-note cur- 
rency which he advocated, although he ac- 
knowledged that the currency was exces- 
sive ; and he must have been aware of the 
fact that the proposed three hundred mil- 
lions of new bank notes largely exceeded 
the amount of the circulation of the old 
banks. 

He pleads the necessity of getting " mon- 
ey," to make every payment with, as an ex- 
cuse for Government issues of " legal-ten- 
der " paper money, thus ignoring the em- 
ployment of those media of exchange in 
which the business of the civilized world 
is coad acted, without the active circulation 
of metallic money, upon a specie basis. 



He conceals the fact that the new na- 
tional banks are keeping the public money 
and loaning it out on interest, although they 
pay no interest to Government for the use of 
that money, and draw interest on the stocks 
deposited as security for the notes they 
issue. 

He ignores the constitutional measure or 
standard of value ; and advocates a paper- 
money system without any avowed knowl- 
edge of the mode upon which that system 
can be i:)ractically sustained, except by the 
threat of destroying the banks which issue 
it. and confiscating the private property of 
citizens invested in such banks. 

Ho acknowledges the tendency to repudi- 
ation of a Government paper money issued 
in excess, yet defends the excessive issues 
that he has aided in Congress. 

He expresses an opinion that it is the 
policy of the Government to reduce the 
quantity of legal-tender paper without giv- 
ing any returns to sustain the opinion 
when the price of gold was rising above 
ninety premium, the dollar being worth lit- 
tle more than fifty cents, which was a sure 
indication of the extent to which the cur- 
rency was being inflated, and which was, 
and still is, overwhelming the working peo- 
ple of the country in the deepest distress, 
compelling them to pay double, and in 
many cases more than double, for the nee-, 
essaries of life. 

He misrepresents or conceals the facts in 
relation to the circulatioQ of the old banks 
throughout the States, giving the circula- 
tion, in figures, of nine banks in this city 
which had expanded, and witholding the 
figures as to the other forf//-fhrtc banks in 
this city, which had in some cases altogeth- 
er withdrawn or greatly reduced their cir- 
culation. 

He charged the old banks with wantonly 
inflating the currency because they receive 
and deal in the issues of the Government 
whiqh have been made a compuhorij pay- 
ment by the tender acts, and to refuse 
which would have been to refuse to receive 
payment of debts due to them. 

He pleads the use of paper money as a 
war measui-e. whereas the most successful 
wars have been conducted to a triumphant 
termination upon the basis of a real money 
system after paper money had proved dis- 
astrous. 

He conceals the facts as to the issues of 
legal-tender paper having wrought a forced 
and cruel confiscation of the incomes of 
widows and orphans derived from mortga- 



n 



ges, savings-bank deposits, life insurances, 
and other permanent investments, while the 
increased taxation of the rich, and those 
amassing fortunes by the war, has been 
readily met by the high premium on the 
gold obtained for interest on the public debt. 

He'chargcs the inflation of the currency 
upon the old banks, without acknowledging 
that they were made to inflate, and the sus- 
pension of specie payments made lawful, by 
those excessive issues of Government paper, 
made lawful money, which have deranged 
all values, aroused wild manias «>f specula- 
tion, converted nearly every honest busi- 
ness pursuit into a species of lottery or 
gambling, produced tendencies to vice and 
immorality, and created a love for extrava- 
gance and display destructive to that eco- 
nomical and virtuous way of life which our 
republican fathers taught us was most be- 
coming our character as a democratic re- 
publican people. 

Such are the " financial authorities " that 
have been and are yet guiding our econom- 
ical affairs. Our brave armies have done 
and are doing all that could be expected of 
them. All our disasters have come from 
want of skill in our rulers. If an ignomin- 
ious peace be forced iiipon us, it will be from 
the mismanagement of the finances. I pray 
that a merciful Providence may avert such 
a calamity. 

THE PATRIOTISM OF THE DEMOCRATIC 
PARTY. 

As to the course of the Democratic Par- 
ty, the resolutions and votes in Congress, 
passed unanimously, prove that they have 
no sympathies with the rebellion. So also 
with Mr. Pendleton. He voted supplies 
for sustaining the Government and prosecu- 
ting the war. As to the views of the Dem- 
ocratic party upon the question of negro en- 
listments, they have been fully sustained 
and vindicated by General Sherman, one 
of our most successful commanders, in his 
letter of July 30, 1864. 

As to the character of the opposition to 
General McClellan, an occurrence has re- 
cently taken place in newspaper circles 
which affords a good illustration. I quote 
the following account of it : — 

"The inexperienced editor of some West- 
ern journal having published the subjoined 
paragi-aplis under the impression that they 
were extracts from a speech of the late Sena- 
,tor Douglas, of Illinois, the New York Trib- 
une reproduces them in its columns, saying : 

" ' The lamented Douglas thus powerfully 



expressed himself on the subject of submis- 
sion to llebcls in arms : 

" 'To efface the insult offered to our flag, 
to secure ourselves from the fate of the divi- 
ded Republics of Italy and South America, to 
preserve our Government from destruction, to 
enforce its just power and laws, to maintain 
our very existence as a nation, — these were the 
causes which compelled us to draw the sword, 
llebellion against a Government like ours, 
which contains the means of self-adjustment 
and a pacific remedy for evils, should never 
be confounded with a revolution against des- ♦ 
}X)tic power, which refuses redress of wrongs. 
Such a rebellion cannot be justified on ethical 
grounds ; and the only alternatives fur our 
choice are its suppression or the destruction of 
our nationality. 

" ' At such a time as this, and in such a 
struggle, political partisanship should be 
merged into a true and brave patriotism, which 
thinks only of the good of the whole country. 
It was in this cause, and with these motives, 
that so many of our comrades have given their 
lives, and to this we are all personally pledged 
in all honor and fidelity. Shall such devotion 
as that of our dead comrades be of no avail? 
Shall it be said in after ages that we lacked 
the vigor to complete the work thus begun ? 
that, after all these noble lives freely given, 
we hesitated and failed to keep straight on un- 
til our land was saved ? Forbid it, Heaven, 
and give us firmer, truer hearts than that.' " 

The above " powerful " observations so 
heartily approved by the Tribune, supposing 
them to be utterances of " the lamented Doug- 
las," are from the eloquent and patriotic ora- • 
tion of Georjre B. McClellan at West Point, 
that th 

Gren. McClellan, but only by 
accident." 

One of the strangest occurrences in the 
conduct and policy of the administration re- 
lated to the substitute brokers in this city. 
Secretary Stanton or the President at one time 
permitted them to go on with their business, 
then arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned them ; 
and then on a recent occasion encouraged them 
td go on again, and actually granted them li- 
censes to do so, Wilson's speech stopping re- 
cruits, and the course of Stanton inliarmony 
with that speech, were in strange contrast with 
the constant demand of leading generals for 
more men and larger armies. 

INTELLIGENCE AND SKILL REQUIRED IN THE 
ADMINISTRATION. 

In conclusion, permit me to say that, in my 
humble judgment, the great want of our coun- 



It will be seen that the Tribune can some- 
times be just to 



14 



tiy now is ordinary intelligence in the men at 
the head of public affairs. The incompeten- 
cy of our pul)lic men has led to innumerable 
failures. Our foreign affairs, too, have been 
po strangely mismanaged that foreign powers 
have ventured to foster privateers to prey up- 
on our commerce, although the rebel govern- 
ment sending out these privateers has not been 
recognized as an independent power by any na- 
tion. Our Grovei'nment, for some unexplained 
cause, would not license privateers to destroy 
the enemy's vessels, and thus our commerce 
has been destroyed ; merchants compelled to 
stand with their hands tied, watching their 
buniing ships, without being able to raise a 
hand to defend themselves. I dare say, Mr. 
Seward has some grand rhetorical exposition 
prepared to print in defence of such a policy, 



but I cannot understand the principles which 
have governed him and Mr. Lincoln in this 
matter. The effect has been, practically, to 
destroy our mercantile marine, and transfer 
our commerce — once the greatest, in tonnage, j 
in the world — to other nations, principally to 
Great Britain, which has built and equipped 
rebel privateers to destroy our ships. 

AVith the election of G-en. McClellan we 
shall have patriotism, skill, honesty and hon- 
or. His election will be the first-fruits of the 
purifying influence of our civil war. Men of 
honor and integrity will replace the grovelling 
political tricksters now in power. True states- 
manship will once more direct our affairs, and 
peace and prosperity, with the blessing of 
Providence, again bless our united country. 



General McClellan's Views of the War and the Country. 



The Harrison's Bar Letter. 

Head-quarters, Army of the Potomac, , 
Camp near Harrison's Landing, Va., July 7, 1802. 

Mu. Puesuient: You have been fully informed that 
the rebel army is iu our front, with the purpose of over- 
whelming- lis "by attacking our positions, or reducing us 
by blockudiug I'ur liver communications. I cannot but 
regard our condition ns critical; and I earnestly desire, 
in view of possible contingencies, to lay before your 
Excellency, for your private consideration, my general 
views concerning the existing state of the rebellion, 
although they do not strictly relate to the situation of 
this army, or strictly come within scope of my official 
duties. These views amount to convictions; and are 
deeply impressed upon my mind and heart. Our cause 
must never be abandoned; it is the cause of free insti- 
tutions and self-gfovernnient. The Constitution and the 
Union must be'preserved, whatever "may be the cost 
in time, treasure or blood. If secession is successful,^ 
other dissolutions are clearly to be seen in the future. 
Let neither military disaster, political faction, or foreign 
■war, shake your settled purpos^to enforce the equal 
operation of the laws of the United States upon the 
people of every State. 

Tiie time has come when the Government must de- 
termine upon a civil and military policy covering the 
whole ground of our national trouble. Tlie respousi- 
Jbility of determining, declaring, and supporting such 
civil and military policy, and of directing the whole 
course of national atlairs in regard to the rebellion, 
must now be assumed and exercised by you, or our 
cause will be lost. The Constitution gives you power 
sufficient even for the present terrible exigency. 

This rebellion has assumed the character of war; g,s 
such it should be regarded; and it should be conduct- 
ed upon the highest principles known to Christian civil- 
ization. It should not be a war looking to the subjuga- 
tion of the people of any State, in any event. It should 
not be at all a war upon population, but against armed 
forces and political organizations. Neither confisca- 
tion of property, political executions of jK-rsons, terri- 
torial organizations of States, or forcible abolition of 
slaver)', should be contemplated for a moment. In pros- 
ecuting the war, all private property and unarmed per- 
sons sliould be strictly protected, subject only to the 
necessity of military operations. All private property, 
taken lor military use, should be paid or receipted for: 
pillage and waste should be treated as high crimes; all 
unnecessary trespass sternly prohibited, and otlcnsive 
demeanor by the military towards citizens promptly re- 
buked. Military arrcstsshould not be tolerated, except 
in places where active hostilities exist; and oaths not 
required by en.acliiients constitutionally made, should 
be neither demanded nor received. Military govern- 



ment should be confined to the preservation of public 
order, and the protection of political rights. Military 
power should not be allowed to interfere with the rela- 
tions of servitude, either by supporting or impairing 
the authority of the master, except for suppressing dis- 
order, (ts in other cases. Slaves contraband under the 
act of Congress,' seeking military protection, should 
receive it. The right of the Government to appropri- 
ate permanently to its own service claims to slave labor, 
should be asserted; and the right of the owner to com- 
pensation tlierefor should be recognized. 

Tliis principle might be extended, upon grounds of 
military necessity and security, to all the slaves within 
a particular State; thus working manumission in such 
State; and in Missouri, perhaps in Western Virginia 
also, and possibly even iu Maryland, the expediency of 
such a measure is only a question of time. 

A system of policy thus constitutional and conserva- 
tive, and pervaded by the infiuences of Christianity and 
freedom, would receive the sujiport of almost all truly 
loyal men; woiikl, deeply impress the rebel masses and 
all foreign nation,*, and it might be humbly hoped that 
it would commend itself to the favor of the Almighty. 

Unless the priuoiiiles governing the future conduct of 
our struggle shall be made known aud approved, the 
ettort to obtain re<iuisite forces will be almost hopeless. 
A deolaratioTi of radical views, especially upon slavery, 
will rajjidly disintegrate our present iMKuies. 

The polii y of the (loverntneut must be supported by 
concentration of military power. The national forces 
should not be dispersed in expeditions, posts of occu- 
jvation and numerous aiinies ; but should be mainly col- 
lected into masses, ;ind brought to bear upon the armies 
of tiie Confederate States. Those armies thoroughly 
defeated, the political structure whieb they support 
will soon cease to exist. 

In carrying out any system of policy which you may 
form, you will require a coirimander-in- chief of the 
array : one who posesscs your confidence, understands 
your views, and who is oohipetent to execute your or- 
ders by directing the military forces of the nation to 
the accomplishment of the objects by you pioposed. 
I do not ask that place for myself. 1 am willing to 
serve you iu such position as you may assign me, aud I 
will do so as faithfully as "ever subordinate served 
superior. 

I may be on the brink of eternity ; and as I hope for 
forgiveness from my MakCr, I have written this letter 
witJi sincerity towards you and from love of my 
country. A'ery respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

G. B. McCLELLAN, 
Major-General Commanding. 



WATCHWORDS ¥0R PATRIOTS. 

MOTTOES FOR THE CAMPAIGN, SELECTED PROM GENERAL 
McCLELLAN'S WRITINGS. 

Our cause must never be abandoned ; it is tbe cause of free institutions and self- 
goveinment. — JlarrisojCs Latxling Letter. , -^ 

We are fiuhtinsj: solely for tbe iutegiity, of tbe Union, to u]iholfl tbe po"W'er of 
our national government, and to restore to tlie nation tlic blessings of peace and 
good ov^QW—IuMruGtions to General llalleek., Noymmher 11, 1861. 

You- will please constantly to bear in mind tbe precise issue for wbicb we are 
figbting; tbat issue is tbe preservatiQU of tlio Union and tbe restoration of tbe full 
autbority of tlie gcrieral government over all portions of our territory. — Instruc- 
tions to General Buell, November 7, 1801. 

' ' We sball most readily suppress tbis rebellion and restore tbe autbority of tbe 
gnv(,'!-nmcnt by religiously res])ecting the constitutional rights of all. — Instructions 
to General Bmll.^ November 7, 186^. , . , 

l^e caix'ful so to treat tbe unarmed inhabitants as to contract, not widen, tbe 
breach existing between us and the rebels. — Instructions to General liuell, 
November Ti, 1801. 

I have ahvaj-s found that it is the tendency of subordinates to make vexatious 
arrrests on mere suspicion. — Instructions to General Buell^ November 12, 1801. 

Say as little as .possible about politics or the negro. — Instructions to General 
Burnside.,. January 7, 1802. 

Tbe unity of this nation, the preservation of our institutions, are so dear to rae 
tbat I have willingly sacrificed my private happiness with tbe single object of doing 
my duty to my country. — Letter to Secretary Cameron., October., 1861. 

The ConstLtiLtiau and the Union must bo preserved, whatever may be the cost 
in time, treasure, ovhXood. -r-iMarrison^s Bar letter. 

Neither confiscation of property, ))olitical executions of persons, territorial or- 
ganization of Stales, nor forcible abolition of slavery should be contemplated for a 
moment. — Letter to President Lincoln., July 7, 1802. 

In prosecuting this war, alb private property and unarmed persons should be 
strictly protected, subject to the necessity of miltary operations. — Letter to the 
President., July 1^ 1,802. 

. Military arrests should not be tolerated, except in placesiwbere active hestilities 
exist ; and oaths, not required by enactments constitutional!}^ made, should be 
neither demanded nor received. — Letter to the President, Julyl, 1862. 

It should not be a war looking to the subjugatioii of the people of any State in 
any event. It should not be at all a war upon po]nilations, but against armed 
forces and political oi-ganizations. — Ilarrisoii's Bar Letter. i 

If it is not deemed best to entrust mo with the command even of my own 
army, I simply ask to be permitted to share their fate on tbe field of battle. — Des- 
patch to GeneMl ILXlleck, August 30, 1802. 

In the arrangement and conduct of campaigns tlfe direction should be left to 
professional soldiers. — Genercd 3IcClellan^s Report. 

' By pursuing the political course I have always advised, it is possible to bring 
about a permanent restoration of the Union — a re-union by which tbe riglits of 
both sections sball be preserved, and by which both parties shall preserve their self- 
respect, Avbile they respect each other. — General McClellan^s Report. '■"'^ 

I am devoutly grateful to God that my last campaign was crowned with a vic- 
tory which saved the nation trom the greatest peril it had then undergone. — Gen- 
eral McCldlaii's Report. , , , 

At such ri tinie as this,'Hiirld''i'h 'feiifeh a stVuggle,^pciHtical partisarwhip eboiikt be 

merged in a true and biave patriotism, which thinks only of tbe good of the 

whole coxmivy.—^ General MdClellan^s West Point Oration. ' T'K! 

.A system ofj)plicy thus constitutional and conservative, and pervaded by the 

J iniki«3l5jt'<tMtif Christianity and freedom, would receive the su])port of almost all truly 

M loVar-Mu" woidd deeply impress the rebel masses and all tbreign nations, and it 

raiu!it*l)e*numbly' hoped th>i,t it would, comiuend itself to the liivor of the >\lmigbty. 

-JIarris<^n^^^^^<p:ZeU^,^^ ^^^^^^.^^ ^^,^ ^^ 



MARK THE CONTRAST. 



DEMOCRATIC PRICES. ABOLITION PRICES. 

Groceries. 

Teas 45a50c per lb. Teas . . .' $1 00a$2 50 

Sugars 8 9c " Sugars 20 30 

Coffees 14 16c " Coffees 65 

Nutmegs 50 55c " Nutmegs $2 OC 

Pepper S 9c " Pe^jper 65 

Allspice 6 8c " Allspice 50 

Cinnamon 20 22c " Cinnamon $1 00 

Dry Goods — Domestic. 

Brown Sheetipgs 8Jc per yd. Brown Sheetings 65c per yd. 

Prints, Calicoes, etc 5|g " Prints, Calicoes, etc. .\ 40c " 

Bleached Muslins 5^c " Bleached Muslins 75c « | 

Canton Flannels 10c " Canton Flannels 90c « 

• Foreign. 

Delaines 15|c per yd. Delaines 75c per yd. 1 

Dress Goods 25c " Dress Goods 80c " i 

Velvets S2 50c « Velvets $12 00c « j 

I 
Raw Cotton, Etc. i 

Cotton Laps 18c per lb. Cotton Laps $1 75 per lb. i 

Wadding 40c " Wadding 2 20 « ; 

Carpet Chain 20c " Carpet Chain 110 " J 

Lamp Wick 20c " Lamp Wick 1 50 « | 

Metals, Etc. 

Lead 6c per lb. Lead 32c per lb. '■ 

Antimony 13c " ' Antimony 75c " 

Block Tin 31c « Block Tin 90c « | 

Coal, j 

Of which the poor man's fire consumes as much as that which blazes in the rich i 

man's fire — in former days could be had for four or Jive dollars/ it now costs foicr- \ 
teen and fifteen, dollars. 

Cloths. I 

Satinets : . 45a50c per yd $1 76 per yd \ 

Broadcloths, Cassimeres, etc., have increased from 106 to 150 per cent. 

DRUGS have increased in price on an average of 200 per cent. ! 

TOBACCO — Manufactured Cavendish Tobacco has risen from 35 cents t» 
%l 25 per pound. W 6 ""S 

CIGARS have advanced from $20 to $60 and $200 per thousand. ** * • 
FOREIGN STATIONERY, since the scarcity of specie, has risen 50 per cent. j 


















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